Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1887-08-25
From southern ca,iforn,.
RIVERSIDE, GALA, AUG ,5 ,ey.

SiA--tJn *f'tf
leaving Dakota for southern CaliforS,
last fall / made numerous promises - H Hs;
write letters descriptive of this ts. s|
southwest, its climate, healtbfulnsss M
etc. Now that sufficient tina ~ 1
elapsed to write from personal ernss
ence. l will ask editorial aid in keenin,
my promise and make one letter do f.
all. In this remind myself of an oa M ri
Canadian who borrowed the hoe ana IA @
asked me to go after it, LAS might \. ' M
after being too lazy to do it meselt - s M
know" M
The disadvantages of a boomi,, @
country are not apt to be made promi
rent. But much as | might wish n @
see the editor and his subscribe,s IN
Riverside, | will try and remove wh,, II
enchantment distance may lend to hs
view. A northern nan misses n. n
changing seasons and feels as if he b.a r
been transported to another world. 90 4
few are the sights and sounds with 6
which he is familiar. Little but win.
ter barley can be raised without irrloa. |;
tion, and winter crops are uncertain
so lands above the canals are compara.
lively worthless. Irrigated lands a,e
worth from $500 to $500 per acre.
This seems a fabulous price for farm
lands but the immence profits on citrus
and other fruits will warrant ita safe
investment. Climate however has
much to do with the price of land
You buy the climate with little sol,
thrown in.
Water for all purposes comes frem
canals or very deep wells, and in either
case it is warm and has to be cooled in
jars called "oyers before it is fit to
drink. Probably one-fonrtk of the
"rancher's" time is spent in the work
of irrigation; you can make it rain
when you want to but it is no light
task. Orange groves require water less
often than small fruits. Orange pro-
duction is by far the most profitable in
dustry but it takes eight or ten years
to bring trees into bearing. A good
orchard yields $1,000 per acre. or even
higher. Grapes bear the second year
from cuttings and do extremely well.
L would like to lay FIVE pound cluster
of seedless sultanas on every table in
Hurley. This variety ripens in July
and grapes may be had from Independ-
ence day to Christmas. All kinds of
fruit do well, but orange and grape are
the principal crops at Riverside. We
have flies the year around and they iop
into your coffee just as they do in the
none are needed. The mosquito is a
rare bird and bed-bugs are fewer than
saloons in Turner Co. We plead guilty
to centipedes and tarantulas; but the
worst pest in this section however is
the honey bee which injuries the grape
and apricot.
Building material will average fifty
per cent higher than at the north;
groceries, generally. and clothing, about
the same. Eggs are 3Oc per doz, butter
4Oc per lb, and a good COW $50 to 500,
and an average team $3.50. Board.
rents and wages are high, a man and
team can earn $4 to Sc per day, and
every brick-layer in Turner Co, could
find work at similar wages on the I'M
mense hotel now being built, to cost
$250,OOO.
The older towns are very beautitul.
They tell of Il young man who came
here to look for his mother, being told
she was in paradise. After searching
several towns he found her in River.
side. If he had come when the hot
wave did his opinion might have been
| like the Irishman's, who retreated il
hot haste after drinking at a boiling
spring, "For hell is not one mile from
this place, bedad." Hot waves howevel
are rare visitations. Almost daily the
breeze comes with much that hints o.
snowy SUBMITS and boundless seas
AS before stated it is the charming eli
mate that renders mere existence de
lightful. 1t is not easy to describe, bu
il You imagine that all the richness o
bloom and luxuriant verdure Of azure
arched June were mingled with tn
wealth-laden orchards ana vineyard
of golden October, and then think thi
blending of charmed days goes 0
through the whole circle of the yea
and. like the brook, forever. with n
rude interruption of thunder bolts, c.
clones or billiards you will have a fa
idea of southern California climate.
will not advise anyone to come bl
to show how people are coming wi
say that Riverside's assessable propert
has increased from $l,5OO.OO0 to S3,00
600 in the last twelve months.
-Four towns were surveyed in Ju
near San Diego and a million dolla
worth of lots sold. at one place 1
teams loaded with lumber. and head'
by two brass bands, took out lumb
for a hotel. OF course such boo
can't last always; there is a limit to Il
water supply. But certain it is tn
every foot of land that can be irrigat
will soon be occupied.
Every variety Of chronic disea
affected unfavorably by cold or chan
able weather would be benefited he
Those very far advanced in consun
tion are benefited as Il rule only for
short time. Do not send your 81
ones, but come with them; honest,
ness and neglect might more tn
counter-ballance the benefit of clima
Yours Truly,
E. Z. SILL